Well friends, we’re officially 25% of the way through this 2026 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football regular season, and with our beloved Irish ranked 3rd and sitting at 3-0 after outscoring their first three opponents 120-23, they travel to good ole West Lafayette to take on the 1-2 Purdue Boilermakers.
Underdogs by just under 4 touchdowns and in just the second season under head coach Barry Odom as he tries to rebuild the program, Purdue has had some interesting games to-date with a multi-OT loss
against Wake Forest followed by a shootout loss to UCLA. To better understand how that kind of squad will match up with the Irish, I reached out to friend of the program Andrew Ledman, Deputy Manager at the Purdue SB Nation site Hammer and Rails, who was generous enough to answer all sorts of questions about Purdue, despite having already seen what kinds of things we asked last year.
Andrew touches on Barry Odom and what this program’s ceiling looks like in the modern era, the roller coaster ride that is Ryan Browne at QB, the Purdue running game and defense, Purdue Pete’s haunting eyes, and more. So let’s jump into it and prepare ourselves for yet another game in this storied in-state series.
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1. There’s no question that Barry Odom had a tough task ahead of him when he took over a program that went 5-19 under his predecessor. He’s 3-12 so far at Purdue — how do you/Boiler fans feel about him and whether he’s got the program on the right track to improvement? Do you think he will be able to get the Boilermakers competitive with the best teams in the Big Ten again?
Andrew Ledman, Hammer and Rails: Purdue fans are in a sour mood right now. Odom has been given a lot of leeway given the state of the program when he took over, but that goodwill won’t last forever. Things got bad in the offseason when Odom announced that he was rehiring Kevin Kane as defensive coordinator. He had been at Purdue under Ryan Walters and had some of the worst defenses in Purdue history. Then Kane’s defense failed to stop a 4th and 15 and he made a really strange comment afterward about ensuring he knew the down and distance when making play calls. Like, yeah my guy that’s part of the job. Then the defense put up an abysmal perfomance on the road against UCLA and the tide is turning against Kane and Odom. A lot of the fanbase wants Kane gone and feel like if Odom doesn’t get rid of him then he’s not prepared to take this team forward.
As to can he make the team competitive? I’m not sure anyone can do that without a big infusion of cash.
2. Somewhat related: what is the Purdue football program’s ceiling in this modern era of college football dominated by NIL, Transfer Portal, etc.? Considering it’s such a strong basketball school, will football be second fiddle when it comes to resources?
Andrew Ledman, Hammer and Rails: Well, we certainly know what the floor looks like (we’re standing on it) but we don’t know the ceiling. To the best of our knowledge Purdue does not have a cadre of wealthy donors throwing money at the football program. A rumor surfaced in the offseason that a Purdue alum worth a few hundred million was going to start donating to help the football program and we certainly saw Purdue grab some bigger names in the portal but it certainly hasn’t been enough. Basketball on the other hand seems to have whatever it wants which makes sense given that they’ve had consistent success. Unless something drastic changes Purdue will be a basketball school for the foreseeable future.
3. Purdue QB Ryan Browne had seemed like a fun but turnover-prone loose cannon in 2024 and 2025, but he’s playing VERY well so far in this young 2026 season. How has he improved compared to the last couple years, and what weaknesses or limitations does he have that ND may be able to exploit?
Andrew Ledman, Hammer and Rails: His improvement has been drastic. He’s not making as many bad throws, he’s taking the safer play when necessary, and he’s just overall a better QB.
Now, he still has issues, he often makes the wrong call on RPO situations and he can sometimes lock in on a WR, but again vastly improved. Some of that comes down to the fact that he’s got better players around him. His offensive line isn’t making him run for his life nearly every down like last year and his WRs are much better.
3a. Who are his key targets in the passing game that Irish fans should know about heading into this one?
Andrew Ledman, Hammer and Rails: Xavier Townsend and Asaad Waseem are Purdue’s two top receivers with Chauncey Magwood being in that third spot. There’s also George Burhenn the tight end but he’s had some nagging injuries so you may not see a lot of him.
4. Fame Ijeboi not only has a 5-star name, but he’s also having a really nice year at running back so far. What’s he do well/not well, and how do you think he and the Purdue offensive line will hold up against this Irish defensive front?
Andrew Ledman, Hammer and Rails: He’s got a great ability to get to the edge and turn the corner. He’s also very patient and has some great moves once he gets into space.
The challenge that he faces is the offensive line not opening holes. They simply aren’t a dominating line and as a running back that makes your life that much harder. I’d expect running to be a big challenge for the Boilermakers.
5. What position groups on this Purdue defense are strengths and which are liabilities? Will they be able to find some success against an Irish offense that’s been strong overall but is still trying to find consistency and its full identity after three games?
Andrew Ledman, Hammer and Rails: Let’s go with liabilities first. The defensive line does not get much if any push. They get bullied off the line and allow a lot of rushing yards. Last week against UCLA the defense allowed 369 rushing yards. No, that’s not a typo, 369 rushing yards. It was an unbelievable display.
As for a strength…well the secondary is tall and that’s been a good thing. Purdue has also done a decent job with corner blitzes. So that’s good…right?
6. How’s Purdue Pete doing, besides still haunting our dreams? Are there any mascots in the FBS you would say are more soulless and terrifying than him? If so, which ones and why?
Andrew Ledman, Hammer and Rails: I reject the premise of your question. Anyone who thinks Purdue Pete isn’t warm, cuddly, and family friendly needs to touch grass because you’ve let the internet rot your brain. What’s scary about a normal guy in a football uniform with a giant fiberglass head and hauntingly beautiful eyes? Nothing!
I think Kansas State’s Willie Wildcat is strange because he’s got a human body but a wildcat head. I guess they couldn’t spring for the whole outfit?
7. Power rank these celebrities who have signed the Purdue Big Bass Drum (list is based on Wikipedia and some Google searching I did — bonus points if you know of additional fun names that can be added to the list):
- Harry S. Truman
- Snoop Dogg
- Kix Brooks (of Brooks & Dunn)
- Neil Armstrong
- Steve Harvey
- The Kodo Drummers of Japan (world-renowned professional taiko drumming troupe)
- Gus Grissom
- Terry Crews
Andrew Ledman, Hammer and Rails:
Neil Armstrong (obviously, 1st man on the moon, American hero, Boilermaker)
Harry Truman
Gus Grissom
Terry Crews (beccause of Brooklyn 99)
Steve Harvey (juicy pockets! that’s a Family Feud reference)
Kodo Drummers
Snoop Dogg
Brooks
8. Okay let’s get down to it — who wins, what’s the final score, and how does it happen?
Andrew Ledman, Hammer and Rails: I think this gets ugly for Purdue and fast. Somehow they made it a bit of a game last season at ND but I don’t see that happening this year. ND runs all over Purdue.
Purdue 17
Notre Dame 56
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Alrighty y’all, let’s give a massive thank you and shout-out to Andrew for all his great insight, and I implore you all to head over to Hammer and Rails to check out all their great content, including a Q&A with yours truly. Also make sure to give them a follow on Twitter, as they’re a very entertaining, fun, and informative follow for sure.
That’s all for this week, folks — per usual, GO IRISH, BEAT BOILERS!
